


God Bless Nap Time

by pastandfuturequeen



Series: 15 Days of FinnPoe [6]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: 15 Days of FinnPoe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-07
Updated: 2017-12-07
Packaged: 2019-02-11 19:48:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12942429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pastandfuturequeen/pseuds/pastandfuturequeen
Summary: Screams bounce loudly off the walls. Chairs are upturned, the items on the tables knocked over and spread onto the floor. Everything is splashed in red - the floor, the walls, their faces -Finn stands in the middle of it all, a child in his arms and a determined expression on his face. He sets the child down and clears his throat, voice loud enough to be heard over the screams. “If you can hear me, clap once!” The noise starts to dull, interrupted by the sound of a few scattered claps. Finn speaks again, voice louder “If you can hear me, clap twice!” Several tiny hands clap together, their voices quieting down until there's nothing more than a slight murmur. Several small chubby faces turn to Finn, faces smeared in the same bright red as the rest of the scene. Finn surveys them all and raises his brows, a small smile slipping into his face. “Did you guys have a bit too much fun with the strawberry jelly?”Or, alternatively - Finn is a daycare worker, and Poe loves him.15 Days of FinnPoe: Day 6





	God Bless Nap Time

**Author's Note:**

> _On the sixth day of FinnPoe, my true love gave to me . . . six children napping!_
> 
> [Also Posted on Tumblr]

Screams bounce loudly off the walls. Chairs are upturned, the items on the tables knocked over and spread onto the floor. Everything is splashed in red - the floor, the walls, their faces - 

Finn stands in the middle of it all, a child in his arms and a determined expression on his face. He sets the child down and clears his throat, voice loud enough to be heard over the screams. “If you can hear me, clap once!” The noise starts to dull, interrupted by the sound of a few scattered claps. Finn speaks again, voice louder “If you can hear me, clap twice!” Several tiny hands clap together, their voices quieting down until there's nothing more than a slight murmur. Several small chubby faces turn to Finn, faces smeared in the same bright red as the rest of the scene. Finn surveys them all and raises his brows, a small smile slipping into his face. “Did you guys have a bit too much fun with the strawberry jelly?”

Several of the children giggle, some of them shaking their heads and attempting to hide their hands and faces. Finn blows a breath, but his smile is kind. “Alright everyone, snack time’s over. Let's get you all cleaned up for story time!” The children scream for a different reason then, faces lighting up in joy. “Alright everyone,” Finn says, trying to be heard over the sounds and failing only slightly. “Remember to push in your chairs and line up for the wash station!”

“Yes, Mr. Finn!” some of the children respond. They are a blur of activity, some shoving the last bits of their snack in their mouths while others quickly push in their chairs and dash to the sink, sticky hands in the air.

Finn turns to one of the older kids, a six year old with close cropped hair and a quiet demeanor. “Hey Alfred,” he says, squatting down until he’s at the boy’s eye level. “Wanna help me teach the little kids how to wash their hands?”

Alfred shoots a sweet smile. “Sure, Mr. Finn,” he says. 

“Thanks little man,” Finn replies. Alfred hurried off to the wash station after the other kids. Finn follows soon after, addressing some of the kids who had been fighting over the snack and helping wipe some of the jelly from their chins and cheeks.

The transition between snack and story time happens very quickly, and before Finn knows it, he's washing his own hands and heading over to the reading area. A spiral rug is on the floor, the area covered in colorful cushions and soft toys, stuffed animals and warm blankets. The children greet him excitedly, some of them clutching beloved stuffed animals to their chests. Finn plops down with his back to the wall, grabbing a blanket of his own. The children scoot closer to him, with minimal shoving involved. There are six of them sitting around him, the youngest as small as two, and the oldest, Alfred, at six. “What story are you reading today?” One of the girls asks. Her curly black hair is just barely visible over the size of the stuffed elephant she holds in her small arms.

Finn pulls out a book from behind him, grinning at them all. “Today we’re reading _Prietita and La Llorona,_ ” he says. On the cover of the book are two brown women standing next to a river.

The girl holding the stuffed elephant furrows her brows and tilts her head. “Mr. Finn?” she asks, worry in her voice.

“Yes, Gabriella?”

“My abuelito said that _la llorona_ takes kids away at night if they’re bad,” she says, drawing the stuffed elephant closer to herself. “My abuelito said she’s a bad lady.”

“What’s ‘lah yo-rona’?” another child, Emily, asks.

Finn smiles kindly at them all. “ _La llorona_ is part of Latin American folk tale. Do you all remember how we learned about Latin America yesterday?” Several of the children nod. “Because there are so many people in Latin America, and the story is told so often, it gets a little fumbled. So although Gabriella’s abuelito might know the story of the bad _la llorona,_ today we’re reading about the story of her being good.”

“So no scary parts?” Gabriella says, voice hopeful.

Finn shoots her a warm smile. “No scary parts,” he says, offering her the most sincere look he can muster. “I promise.”

Gabriella nods at him, hesitant, and clutches the elephant close.

And with that they begin story time, Finn reading the words and showing the pictures for the children to see. He changes his voice according to the characters, acting out the scene with his voice and his face, drawing the children into the story. After the first two pages he sees Gabriella relax out of the corner of his eye, a small smile on her face. Finn feels pride swell in his chest and continues the story. The first book is quickly followed by a second, and after a time he sees some of the children doze off.

Slowly the children settle down and go to sleep, their eyelids growing heavy and fluttering shut. The sound of their breathing flutters through the space, and Finn blows a breath of relief. He rises from his position on the floor, rubbing his legs to wake them up somewhat from his prolonged period on the floor. Carefully maneuvering around the sleeping children so as to not disturb them, Finn quickly gets to work on setting out the nap mats. After they are spread out, Finn goes back to the children and takes each one in his arms, carrying them to their respective nap mats and settling them down carefully so as not to rouse them. Soon each child is on their respective mats, a blanket covering their small forms.

Finn looks on at the scene and blows a breath, finally feeling himself relax. He checks the clock on the wall and nods to himself, realizing he still has some time to work on tidying up before some of the parents came to pick up their children. Finn turns to the rest of the daycare space, the carefully separated play areas with plentiful toys and activities for them to do. There are some toys in the wrong areas, so he sets to work on making sure that they’re set correctly.

Rose peeks her head through the door, smiling once she catches sight of the napping children. “Story time led to nap time?” she whispers.

Finn nods at her. “Always. They’re always exhausted after playing outside. Having snack and then story time right after puts them to sleep without fail.”

“God bless nap time,” she says with a smile. Finn nods and breathes a deep sigh. Rose shoots him a rueful smile. “Wish I could stay, but I gotta go work on my own classroom and get one of my kids ready for pickup. When are your parents coming to pick their kids up?”

“Not for another two hours,” Finn says, glancing back at the clock.

Rose blows a breath, her bangs fluttering off her forehead momentarily. “Lucky you. Parents are always the worst.”

Poe nods knowingly.

With another breath she’s gone, leaving Finn alone with the rest of the kids. He turns back to tidying up when someone clears their throat at the door. Finn turns around and a smile breaks out on his face at the sight of the man before him. “Hey, Poe,” he says.

Poe steps further into the room, a similar broad smile echoed on his own face. “Hey, Finn,” he says. “Is there a particular reason why we’re whispering?”

Finn gestures towards the sleeping children from across the division, and Poe nods understandingly.

“Did you get off work early?” Finn asks, stepping closer to Poe to be heard better despite the whisper.

Poe nods and rubs a hand over his face. “Yeah, finished a little earlier than expected. Figured it’d be alright to surprise Gabriella and spend more time with her.”

Finn smiles at him and places a hand on Poe’s arm. “Your daughter loves you, Poe. You're doing a great job as her dad.”

Poe blows a breath, but a smile slides over his face. “Couldn't do it without you,” he says, looking at Finn. Finn feels warmth settle in his chest and his face under Poe’s warm gaze. “How was she today?”

Finn brings himself to the present. “She did good, played a lot with Maryam when we were outside.”

“They do like to play together a lot,” Poe muses.

“Thick as thieves,” Finn says, heading over to Gabriella’s cubby to grab her belongings. Poe follows two steps behind him. “Also, her grandpa mentioned a couple of days ago that she was having nightmares because he told her about _la llorona._ ”

Poe groans and looks up at the sky. “Yes,” he says tiredly. “I told him she was a bit young, but neither of us realized how badly she'd be scared by it.”

Finn smiles kindly at Poe. “I read the kids this book about _la llorona,_ saying she doesn't always have to be bad. I hope it helps with the nightmares.”

Poe’s whole face lights up with surprise, an adoring smile creeping on his face. “You,” he says incredulously, “Are far more than I ever deserve.”

Finn’s entire face warms at the compliment, and he can't fight the way the words light up his whole face. Their eyes meet, gazed peering into each other. Nerves flutter in Finn’s stomach, the tension between their bodies coiled tight and crackling like static. Poe’s eyes flick down to Finn’s mouth and back to his eyes, running his teeth over his own bottom lip.

There's rustling heard from the corner of the room where the mats were, drawing both of their attention from each other and breaking the spell. Finn blows a breath. “Let me go wake her up,” he says, voice only slightly unsteady. Poe nods. Finn quickly goes over to where Gabriella sleeps, careful not to disturb the other children. He shakes her shoulder gently, trying to rouse her. “Gabriella,” he says gently. “Gabriella, wake up. Your dad’s here.”

Gabriella wakes slowly, eyes squinting and brows furrowed. Finn takes her gently in his arms, wrapping the blanket around her so she wouldn't get cold from the sudden chill. He taker her over to Poe, letting her get settled into full wakefulness. She takes a look at her father and blinks once before a large smile overcomes her face. “Papa!”

“Hola mi bombón,” Poe says, his face alight as he takes her into his arms. “Como té portaste?”

“Bien,” Gabriella replies, drawing the word out in the way children do. “Papa, Maestro Finn nos leyó un libro,” she says, gesturing to Finn.

Poe looks knowingly at Finn, and they share a look. From Finn’s limited knowledge of Spanish, he knows they're talking about the book. “Porque no me dices el cuento en el carro? Ven, ponte los zapatos.” He sets her down gently on the ground and Gabriella heads off to the shoe rack to put hers on. “I'll see you later tonight?” Poe says, his face hopeful.

Finn nods, his face warming at the thought of their date. “Yeah, I can't wait.”

“Neither can I,” Poe breathes.

Gabriella heads back to them, shoes firmly on her feet. “Papa, lla estoy lista.”

Poe takes her hand and her backpack and heads toward the door, shooting a quick smile at Finn. “Tonight,” he says, a promise.

Finn’s smile is radiant. “Tonight.”

**Author's Note:**

>  **15 Days of FinnPoe Notes:**  
>  For those of y'all who aren't already aware, I'm doing a thing called 15 Days of FinnPoe in anticipation of TLJ release on December 15th. Basically, each day starting on December 1st I'll be releasing one fic, each day with a particular theme inspired by the iconic 12 Days of Christmas song - expanded, edited, and with a little bit of a star wars twist of course.
> 
> [Here's the 15 Days of FinnPoe post on tumblr for greater detail.](https://pastandfuturequeen.tumblr.com/post/167847350815/banner-created-by-the-wonderful-forestpenguin)
> 
> **General Notes:**
> 
> The book mentioned here is actually a real book. It's called "Prietita and the Ghost Woman/Prietita y la llorona," written by Gloria Anzaldua. It's a bilingual book for kids, I recommend it just in general, and also gotta show a little love for Latino authors.
> 
> Poe speaks Spanish in this fic. You don't really miss anything if you don't know Spanish, and you don't really need to get google translate for it. Basically, Poe calls Gabriella his Marshmallow as a pet name and asks how she behaved. She says she was good, tells him Finn read them the book. He tells her to tell him more in the car and to put on her shoes. She comes back and tells him she's ready. The reason why I have Poe speak Spanish is because of two reasons. The first one is just to recognize that Poe is Latino, since some of y'all seem to think he's white (which is just wild for multiple reasons, not just including Shara and Kes are both brown and Oscar Isaac is a brown Latino). The second one is to combat the ways that Spanish is usually incorporated into fics. Spanish is rarely used, and when it is then it's either very poorly written or it's just a practice of fetishization (i.e. with the whole 'hola papi,' or basically anything that a fic writer has a Latino say in the bedroom context). So for those reasons, I want Spanish to be used to acknowledge Poe as a Latino, and recognize that Spanish is a language that is used in family, and it's a beautiful language that should not be fetishized.
> 
> Also, you'll notice that there's a theme here that's pretty common in my other fics, namely that Finn is around/good with kids. I just love the concept as a whole. Finn would be absolutely amazing with kids, they'd adore him and draw him little space drawings for him to hang up, he'd talk with them and make sure they're doing alright, make secret handshakes with them. Just Finn with kids, y'all. 
> 
> As always, thanks for reading, and feel free to leave kudos, comments, and criticism below!


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